Basket



(No Model.)

I. B. SHELBY.

BASKET.

Patented June 15, 1897.-

ATTORNEY,

ISAAC B. SEELEY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

BASKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 584,485, dated June 15, 1897. Application filed Fehruary 9, 1897. Serial No. 622,635- (No model.)

Be it known that I, ISAAC B. SEELEY, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have in vented a new and useful Improvement in Baskets, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings.

My invention consists of a basket so constructed that it can be packed rapidly and when open display the contents with a fine facing, while the basket is prevented from bulging. It is ventilated and is graceful and attractive in its nature and may be readily and conveniently carried, while the bottom is prevented from being forced into the body by pressure upwardly from below, the body of the basket being of the form of the frustums of cones united at their narrow diameters, producing a neck which is confined by a ring, the latter beingso constructed that it is prevented from shifting or disconnection.

Figure 1 represents a vertical section of a basket embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 rep resents a horizontal section on line 6U 00, Fig. 1, looking upwardly. Fig. 4 represents a vertical section of a portion of a modification of the invention.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

Referring to the drawings, A designates a basket which is constructed of the bod y-slats B, the bottom C, the lid or cover D, the upper hoops E, the bottom hoops F, and the ring Gr of wire or other material. The slats B are deflected inwardly above the bottom thereof, forming the neck or reduced portion J of the basket, the same being circumscribed by the ring G, thus preventing the spreading or. expansion of said slats at said neck, it being noticed that the body consists of two sections of the form of frustums of cones joined at their narrower diameters, the upper cone being reversed.

The periphery of the bottom 0 is beveled, so as to accord with the contiguous part of the lower inner hoop F, the widest part of said bottom 0 being below.

The operation is as follows: The cover D is secured to the body and the latter inverted and the bottom 0 removed, when the basket is rested on the cover, which is now below. The fruit or other article in. the basket is packed on the cover so as to produce subsequently best results of preservation and display. The packing is continued until the basket is more than full, so that a layer of the fruit, &c., is above the basket, when the bottom is applied and presseddown on said layer, whereby the contents of the basket are made entirely compact, after which the bottom is nailed or otherwise seen red to the hoops F and adjacent portion of the body. The basket is now reversed and is ready for handling, transportation, storage, or the market.

When the lid is removed, the fruit, &c.,

will be found to be in admirable condition both in facing or appearance and preservation, while the basket is attractive and can be nicely and conveniently carried, as the inward deflection or neck J causes the removal of the main portion of the body from contact with the garment of the carrier, and it is also a matter of note that the basket is strong and durable and is prevented from bulging at its deflection, while it is also simple and inexpensive in its nature and adapted to ventilate the contents thereof.

WVhen the baskets are shipped, they may be placed one upon the other, and as the cover rests on the hoop it cannot be pressed down against the fruit, 820., while the conical bottom cannot further enter the body, as it is wedging in its contact with the latter in upward direction, and there is no injurious pressure on the contents of the basket from below, the wedging action being due to the conical or widening nature of the lower section of the body, which section also provides a wide base on which the basket may securely rest.

The lower part or section of the basket as formed by the compressed action of the hoop or ring G provides the flare or deflection to receive the beveled bottom 0, the latter thus being adapted to a basket the reverse of that of the commercial basket in general use, thus causing said bottom to wedge with the contiguous hoop and preventing forcing said bottom upwardly or inwardly from below.

When baskets as filled and closed are placed in a car for shipment, they may be alternately reversed, so that the narrow and wide ends form a continuity of each other in each row and in the tiers, thus adapting the baskets to be packed close together and utilizing the space between the baskets and giving the best results in solid car shipment. Furthermore, the inclined sides of the double conical or flaring sections of a basket provide increased bearing-surfaces and support for the contents of the basket, thus distributing a greater bearing on the sides of the basket as against a full support of the contents on the lower end, especially when the basket is in reversed position.

In order to retain the ring Gin position and prevent shifting or displacement of the same, one of said hoops is formed with the loop H, which embraces one of the slats of the body, while the other end of the hoop is bent into angular form, the extreme end being pointed, forming the spur K, which penetrates a portion of the slat embraced by the other end of the ring and is clenched against said slat, thus firmly connecting the spurred end of the ring with the slat and supporting, as at J the adjacent portion H of the other end of said ring, preventing the ring from sinking or shifting and causing the deflected portion or neck of the basket to retain its shape without liability to'expand or spread.

In Fig. 4 I show a conical or beveled bottom hoop L, which is secured to a straightsided basket, said hoop having its inner side converging and its outside conforming to the contour of said basket, said hoop thus increasing in thickness upwardly. The widest diameters of the hoop and of the bottom M are below, as in the other case, so that the action is the same as that previously stated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A basket consisting of a body formed of sections conical in reverse directions and united at their narrow diameters constituting a reduced neck, a hoop embracing and 0011- trolling said neck, and a bottom having a conical periphery wedgin g upwardly with the coincident hoop on the lower end ofthe body, said end being the widest diameter of the lower section of the body.

2. In a basket, a beveled hoop in the body at lower portion thereof, the widest portion of said hoop being below, and a bottom with a conical periphery within said hoop, the widest portion of said bottom being below, said bottom wedging upwardly against said loop.

' i 3. A basket having a slatted body with a reduced neck above the bottom thereof, and a hoop embracing said neck having its ends engaging one of the slats of the body, one of said ends being formed with a spur which is clenched in said slat, the latter-named end of the hoop immbvably sustaining the other end thereof.

4. A basket having a body formed of sections flaring or conical in reversed directions, united at their narrow diameters producing a'reduced portion or neck on the body above the bottom thereof, a ring circumscribing said neck, and a bottom having a conical periphery whose widest diameter is below and which wedges upwardly with the widest diameter of the base-section of the body, said ring having its ends engaging with a slat of the body and clenched thereon.

5. A basket consisting of a slatted body with top and bottom hoops, a cover and a bottom,'said cover being adapted to rest on the upper hoop, and said bottom being secured from below within a beveled lower hoop, and avring encircling a narrowed portion of said body and having a looped end embracinga slat thereof, and a spur end clenched in said slat, the widest diameters of the bottom and base-section of the body being below.

ISAAC B. SEELEY.

\Vitnesses:

' JOHN A. WIEDERsHEIM, WM. (3. WIEDERsHEIM. 

